Page 42 of Sold to the Alphas

I wanted something familiar, comforting, and real. But there was nothing like that here, just thoughts and loneliness.

22

Finn

I’d spent the entire day walking the streets of the fortress, checking in on my people. There was always something to do, some new piece of business that needed my attention, and no matter how many years passed, I still struggled to be the alpha my people needed. But it was different with Elisabed in my life. She renewed my dedication to protecting the ones who depended on me. My mind kept drifting back to her—the one person who had been impossible to ignore since the moment she’d crossed my path.

Elisabed.

She was everywhere—in the corner of my vision, in the back of my mind, like a spell I couldn’t shake off. I’d never been one for attachment, for that kind of weakness. I never let myself get close to anyone, least of all a little omega who had barely begun to understand the game we played. But with her, it was different.The way she looked at me, the way she defied me, it was driving me insane.

She wasn’t like the others. She didn’t just want to be swept up into the world of our pack and didn’t fall into place like the rest of the omegas. No, she fought it, just like I fought my own need for her. And that made her all the more alluring, all the more irresistible.

I gritted my teeth and tried to push the thoughts aside. My wolf was howling for her, demanding I claim her, and I was doing everything I could to ignore it and keep some semblance of control. But it was getting harder and harder every time she looked at me with those wide, defiant eyes. My need to bend her to my will grew stronger every time she stood her ground.

I grunted to myself, irritated at how much she had gotten under my skin. I never thought an omega—any omega—could make me feel this way. I was supposed to be the carefree one who kept everyone at arm’s length. I was supposed to be a mask, a facade for the others to see. But lately? I could barely stand the thought of not being around her, of not feeling her presence close by. Every time she was near, I wanted to touch her, to feel her body against mine, to hear the way she’d gasp when I pushed her to the edge.

But I resisted. I had to. This was more than just a physical need. It was about control. It was about power. And if I let myself fall too deeply, I knew I’d be lost.

I needed to get out of my own head for a bit. Grabbing some food seemed like a good place to start. I made my way to the kitchens, hands running through my hair in frustration. A snack. Something to eat. That was it.

But as I turned the corner, I saw her.

There she was, standing in the kitchen, pouring herself a glass of water, her back to me. The moment I saw her, my entire body tensed. It was like fate had led me straight to her, like my wolf was guiding me to her presence, demanding that I give in to the urge to claim her. She was right in front of me as if she’d been waiting for me.

I couldn’t stop myself. I walked toward her, every step a pull, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Elisabed,” I said, and she stiffened as she turned around. She looked sad and...different—vulnerable, in a way. And that made my wolf restless, the protective instincts rising within me.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered.

My eyes couldn’t help but roam over her body, taking in the soft curves and the way her skin seemed to glow in the dim light of the kitchen. I swallowed hard. “Are you okay?”

Her lips thinned, but she didn’t say anything. She just stood there with a little frown on her face, her nose red.

“What happened?” I asked, stepping closer, my voice lower and harder now. “Did someone do something to you?”

She hesitated, the air thick with tension, and for a second, I thought she would deny it. Instead, she just looked at me with sadness in her eyes, and before I could blink, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me.

I froze.

She hugged me, not tentatively or weakly, but as if she needed it.

I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close and burying my face in her hair. My heart pounded, and I couldn’t think straight. The wolf inside me was clawing at the surface, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was losing my mind.

I pulled back just enough to look at her face, my hands on her shoulders, lifting her chin to meet my gaze. “Who did this?” I repeated, voice rough with a kind of possessive anger I hadn’t known I was capable of.

She looked at me with such vulnerability that it took my breath away. Then, that vulnerability shifted, turning into a desperate need. But for what?

“Tell me about your pack,” she asked, no, she demanded. The topic caught me off guard, immediately raising my shields as memories of the childhood that was ripped away from me came to mind.

“We’re talking about you right now, little omega, or did you forget?” I tried to tease, but Elisabed was having none of it. She didn’t fall for my slight insult or let it affect her. Her eyes shown with unshed tears as she pushed.

“No, Finn. Tell me about your pack, your life before all this, just… anything,” her voice flipped between determined to dejected, like this was her last hope before she lost it. I didn’t want to talk. I wanted to fight whoever had put her in this mood. But as I looked at her, small and trembling, but still standing tall, I realized it wasn’t up for me to decide what she needed.

“My pack comes from the Driftend lands,” I began, shocked at how the words spilled out when I hadn’t shared details of my own life in years. Elisabed’s plump lips opened in a gasp. I expected that, but it still made me rub my neck to release my nerves. Everyone knew Driftend only had a few isolated packs in the area, and their reputations were that of feral and wild wolves. “My pack was small but close. My family was…”

I drifted off, unable to continue as I thought of my parents, always laughing at my antics when they should have been scolding. I remembered my mother’s bright eyes and my father’s small but always present grin. Before I could get lost in the past, Elisabed reached out and wrapped her delicate fingers around my hand.

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